How AP photographer Evan Vucci captured the defining news image of our era
The Associated Press chief photographer, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, was covering what he thought would be a ‘normal’ Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania – until the gunshots started.
This morning, the world wakes up to the same front-page photograph: former President Donald Trump, his fist raised, eyes fixed on the horizon, mouth agape as he shouts, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, a vivid stream of blood from a bullet wound tracing a line down his face. He is framed by dutiful federal agents in dark suits; in the background, the American flag flutters against a perfect blue sky.
On Saturday night, at a rally in Pennsylvania, a lone gunman – identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park – opened fire at the former president as he addressed the crowd onstage. Although Trump was safe, his ear was injured. One spectator was killed, and at least two others were critically injured. The Secret Service confirmed the would-be assassin was dead.
The moment was captured with piercing clarity through the lens of Associated Press chief photographer Evan Vucci, who was one of the few photographers positioned in a buffer zone metres from Trump when gunfire erupted.
As members of the Secret Service rushed the stage to cover Trump, Vucci, 47 “went into work mode,’’ and made a mad dash towards the danger.
With his camera held above his head, he clicked away and, miraculously, captured the perfectly composed photograph which is destined to become one of the defining images of our time – serving not only as a stark document of the moment but also as a symbol of the fraught and turbulent era in which it occurred.
You can actually see Evan taking that iconic image during the rally coverage below.
— David Altizer (@dvdaltizer) July 14, 2024
Observe Evan's calm demeanor. This is a result of his extensive experience and unwavering confidence. It's as if he was born to frame and compose shots, a skill that has become his second nature.… pic.twitter.com/asblDAEZZ8
Speaking with CNN, Vucci recounted, “I’ve done this hundreds of times; it was a normal rally. Everything was completely normal. Then, over my left shoulder, I heard pops, and I knew immediately what it was,” he said. “I went into work mode. The Secret Service rushed the stage, and I jumped up and got there as quickly as I could. I was photographing them covering President Trump, and I was thinking in my head, ‘What are they going to do next? How are they going to get him off the stage? Where is he going to go? How is this going to unfold?’
“You’re trying to make all these decisions in a moment. So, I ran to the other side of the stage, thinking that would be their evacuation route. As the President was standing up, he started pumping his fist. I saw the blood on the side of his face, and I knew that was the moment …”
Vucci, who has worked with the Associated Press since 2003, said his experience in covering wars in Iraq and Afghanistan helped him stay calm and understand his job: “That experience does help, trying to stay calm and understand you have a job to do.”
In 2021, Vucci was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for his work as part of the AP team that covered the George Floyd protests.
In December 2008, during a press conference in Baghdad, Vucci captured one of his most recognisable photographs: Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi throwing his shoe at former President George W. Bush. The photo freezes al-Zaidi in mid-throw, his expression a mix of anger and defiance, as the shoe — a symbol of disrespect in Arab culture — flies towards the president.
“As a still photographer, I don’t get a second chance,” Vucci said.
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